Brake-beam



(No Model.)

0. K. PIOKLES.

' BRAKE BEAM. No. 569,667. I Patented Oct. 20, 1896,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES K. PICKLES, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO J. J. MCCARTHY,OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

I BRAKE-BEAM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,667, dated October20, 1896.

Application filed September 8, 1896, Serial No. 605,159. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES K. PICKLES,

a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of St. Louisand State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement inBrake-Beams, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to truss brake-beams, and has for its principalobjects to improve the means of holding the several members of the trussin position and to improve the strut with reference to the means ofrotary ad 3' ustment of its sections.

To these ends my invention consists in mounting the brake-head rigidlyon the compression member by the means hereinafter described.

It also consists in making the strut in sections, one of which isadapted to be fitted over the compression member and is adapted to havethe other section interlock with it in either of two positions at rightangles to each other.

It also consists in details of constructions and in the arrangements andcombinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

I will now proceed to describe my invention more indetail, so thatothers skilled in the art to which it appertains may apply the same.

In the accompauyin g drawings, which form part of this specification,Figure 1 is a plan View of my brake-beam. Fig. 2 is an end view thereof.Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the compression member and of the part ofthe brake-head immediately around it, the rest of the brake-head beingshown in section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 4.. The end plate and thetension member seen in Fig. 4 are omitted from this view. Fig. 4: is ahorizontal section through one end of the truss-frame on the line 4 4 ofFig. 2. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively edge and inside views of the endplate which looks the brake-head to the compression member. Fig. 7 is aView of the inner side of the compression member, and Fig. 8 is a detailof the outer end portion of the same. Fig. 9 is a cross-section of thetruss-frame on the line 9 9 of Fig. 1. Figs. 10 and 11 are end views ofthe meeting ends of the two sections of the strut, respectively. Figs.12, 13, and 14: are views of a modification of the strut, and Fig. 15 isa detail of a modification in which the ends of the compression memberare elliptical.

Like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur.

The compression member or beam proper, 1, of the present truss-frame iselliptical in cross-section at its middle portion, the end portionsbeing of elliptical, circular, or other form, as desired. When the beamis made of sheet-steel, as is preferable, the blank sheet is out of anelongated lozenge shape and is rolled on its long diagonal until itsedges meet at the middle portion. The beam thus formed is larger incross-section at the mid dle than elsewhere and its perimeter is closedby the abutting edges at the middle, while a gap is left between suchedges at the end portions; that is, the beam gradually increases incross-sectional area from each end to near the middle and hasgore-shaped slots extending from each end to near the middle.

Over the middle elliptical portion of the beam proper, 1, an ellipticalcollar 2 fits tightly enough to prevent rotation thereon. Thiselliptical collar has a boss 3 integral therewith and projectingoutwardly on the same side with the slot in the plane of the majordiameter of the beam, and grooves or sockets 4, intersecting at rightangles, are formed in the outer face of said boss.

The strut or king-post 5 has ribs or bars 6 projecting from one end andadapted to fit into the cross grooves or sockets 4: of the collar-boss.The strut may be turned through an angle of ninetydegrees by merelyshifting its ribs from the cross-grooves in which they may be to thecross-grooves next adjacent thereto. The outer end of the strut isprovided with cross-grooves likewise arranged at right angles andadapted to receive the tension member in either position of the strutabove referred to. A slot 7 for the equalizing-lever extends through thestrut at an angle of fortyhve degrees with the crossgrooves, so. thatthe beam may be used at either end of the car by turning the strut, andwith it the equalizing-lever, through a right angle.

The tension member 8 extends from the grooves in the end of the strutthrough the slots near the ends of the beam proper and out at each endthrough a hole in' the brakehead, its ends being screw-threaded andfurnished with nuts for tightening the same.

Each of the brake-heads 9 has a socket therein adapted to receive an endof the beam proper. The simplest means of preventing rotation of thebrake-head on the beam is to make the ends of the beam elliptical andhave the brake-head fit tightly thereon, this being the constructionindicated in Fig. 15.

In the construction shown'in Figs. 2, 3, and 4 the ends of the beam arecircular and the socket extends entirely through the brakehead. In thiscase two or more notches 10 (of which the gore-shaped slot may beconsidered one) are made in each end of the beam, and correspondingnotches 11 are formed in the outer side of the brake-head to registertherewith. A plate 12, provided with lugs or ribs 13, adapted to fitinto the notches both of the beam and of the brake-head, closes the endof the brake-head socket and of the beam therein. This end plate 12contains the hole through which the tension member extends and is heldin place by the nut 14 on said member.

The operation of this construction is as follows: The elliptical collarof the strut fits tightly over the elliptical compression member and isthereby held firmly against rotation. The outersection of the strut canonly be removed from and fitted into the collarsection eudwise, and whenadjusted at the desired angle the tension member is fitted into its endgroove and tightened by means of the nuts on the end of the tensionmember. The strut is thus prevented from moving laterally or endwise.The relative positions of the beam and of the tension member arepermanent because the edges of the slot in the beam bear against saidtension member. The beam and the brake-head are rigidly held together bythe lugs on the end plate interlocking with the notches in the beam andin the brake-head, the end plate itself being held firmly by the nut onthe tension member. The several members of the truss are thus heldrigidly together.

In the modification of the strut shown in Figs. 12, 13, and 14 the bosson the elliptical collar-section is made in the form of a straightrib-15 with a widened head. The corresponding face of the outer sectionof the strut has slots 16 cut therein at right angles to each other andof the same sectional form as the rib and extending to the side of thestrut, whereby the T-sha-ped rib on the collar may be interlockededgewise with either of the corresponding T-shaped slots of the outersection.

Obviously numerous changes may be made in the details of constructionwithout departing from my invention. For instance, the

beam proper may be of the same cross-section throughout, or its contourmay be continuous instead of having a gap therein. So also thelocking-ribs of the strut may be on one section or the other, asdesired, and their shape may be altered in divers ways. So also separatelocking-lugs may be formed on the end plate for the respective notchesin the beam and in the brake-head instead of having said lugs engageboth sets of notches.

hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A truss brake-beam comprising a compression member of ellipticalcross-section at its middle portion and having an elliptical collarfitting over said compression member and forming part of the strut,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A brake-beam comprising a strut composed of sections havingrespectively a rib and cross-grooves in their abutting ends, said ribbeing adapted to interlock with either of said cross-grooves,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

3. A brake-beam comprising a strut composed of sections havingrespectively a rib and cross-grooves in their abutting ends, said ribbeing adapted to interlock with either of said cross-grooves, and theouter section having cross-grooves adapted to receive the tensionmember, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

i. A brake-beam comprising a compression member, a strut and a tensionmember, and brake-heads each having a hole into which an end of thecompression member extends and through which the tension member extends,and an end plate for each of said brake-heads, said end plate havingribs thereon engaging notches in the end of the compression member andin the outer side of the brake-head, said end plate having also a holethrough which the tension member extends, and a nut on each end of thetension member, whereby the end plate locks the compression member andthe brake-head rigidly together, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

5. A brake-beam consisting of a compression member having notches in itsends and an opening near each end for the tension member,brake-headseach having a hole into which an end of the compression member fits andhaving notches in its outer face, an end plate for each brake-headhaving ribs fitting into the notches of the brake-head and of thecompression member and having a hole for the tension member, a strutmounted on the middle of the compression member, and a tension memberfitting over the end of the strut and having its respective ends extendthrough the openings in the compression member and the holes in the endplates, said ends being screwthreaded and provided with nuts,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, September 5, 1896.

CHARLES K. PIOKLES.

Vitnesses:

JAMES A. CARR, T. PERoY CARR.

